Event Decorations

Decorating an event can seem like a lot to take on but selecting a theme and colour palette is a good way to start. With some planning and research about available event decor for sale, you can streamline your decorating experience.
 
When decorating for an event, regardless of whether it’s a wedding or a 50th birthday, it’s always effective to create a key focal point. This focal point is usually where you centre the festivities, like the exchange of vows, or the display of the birthday cake. It’s usually the most photogenic spot at the event (a great backdrop for photos), and usually takes shape as a party backdrop or a wedding arch. These sorts of frames work well as the foundation for your event decorations, where you can truly unleash your creativity and explore your chosen theme and colour palette. For example, if your theme is ‘Pretty in Pink’, decorations on your party backdrop may include balloon garlands that feature pink, pink fabric covers/sashes, pink-centric floral arrangements, fairy lights, and an easel sign, acrylic sign, or neon light sign that says ‘Happy Birthday’.

A large event space usually means a long list of guests, and necessary decorations. 

• A lot of guests often means a lot of seating, and when it comes to event table decor, it can help to start with the essentials. Functional decorations (which are not just for aesthetic value) for table decor include items such as place card holders, charger plates, and napkin rings. When considering items like these, it can be helpful to stick to a common theme or finish, like polished gold. Avoiding a cluttered mishmash of styles, colours, and finishes will help tie your look together. 
• Other popular table decorations include candles and floral arrangements. These sorts of event decoration accessories are purely aesthetic in nature but can be the decorating aspect that is the key to your event’s ambiance. Ambiance goes hand-in-hand with your theme, which could be something like a ‘romantic wedding’ with warm-toned roses and glowing candelabras.
• When decorating a large event space, a key focal point like a backdrop frame or the main table display is always impactful. A decoration like this gives all your guests a ‘hub’ to gather at, and take photos and/or mingle. A feature frame backdrop for a ‘romantic wedding’ might include a round mesh backdrop draped with some chiffon. This can then be mounted with some warm-toned floral arrangements, and pillar candles in glass vases of different sizes, all clustered together at the base.

• To decorate a hall (like a scout or community hall) for a party, it can be helpful to start by looking at the layout of the venue. If your hall has a stage or a beautiful view, this spot is a natural location to make the focus of your party. This can be a great spot to place a backdrop with a balloon garland on it. 
• Halls are generally a more casual kind of venue, so when choosing a theme, you might go for more playful and colourful options (like balloons) for party stuff. Since halls tend to have high ceilings, you could hang up zigzagging bunting, hanging paper decorations, or festoon fairy lighting to help build your theme and ambiance.
• If you’re feeling particularly festive and have the ceiling space for it, consider a drop net of confetti or balloons for an unforgettable climax to your celebration. If your party goes on into the evening, when the sun goes down, you can keep the vibes going with novelty lighting, like a disco ball.

Table decor for birthday party events can vary wildly, as the age and interests of the person being celebrated often dictate a colour palette and theme. 

• Table decorations for children, for example, can involve plenty of colours, so party decorations can be a great opportunity to let your creative side loose. 
• If your event is more on the casual side, dining necessities like table covers, paper napkins, straws, and tableware don’t only minimise mess and broken china, but they also function as table party decorations. They come in a huge range of colours, materials, and shapes to suit any theme. As an example, you can stick to a red, white, and gold ‘animal circus’ colour palette with products available at Koch & Co. Place card holders can be less formal in this context, so feel free to label water bottles, party favours, or party hats with guests’ names. Continuing this ‘animal circus’ theme, child-safe decorations that can be used as centrepieces include weighted helium balloons, and balloon animals or origami animals. 
• As a finishing touch, party favour bags (available in red and white stripes, like a circus tent!) and party hats are something you can adorn your tables with that guests can enjoy as a take-home gift. 

The garage can be one of the biggest spaces in a house, and as such, offers a great opportunity as an open area for a party.

•  A great way to help transform your garage from a utility space into a party space is to set up a fabric-covered backdrop. A backdrop like this works to conceal the more utilitarian aspects of your garage, like shelves or a hot water system. It also creates a more welcoming space for your guests, as well as a blank canvas on which you can use party decorations to build your theme and colour palette. As an example, you could use a square backdrop covered with white fabric, a curtain of fairy lights, and then a layer of semi-sheer fabric. A backdrop like this transforms and brightens the room, thus adding to the party ambiance.
• If your garage has an exposed ceiling or rafters, this can be a great opportunity to create ceiling event decorations. Festoon fairy lights are particularly effective, but other examples include bunting, paper lanterns, and helium balloons (or a combination of these).
• Seating for eating can be optional at a casual kind of party, but if you’re hosting a sit-down in a confined space like a garage, long tables are a good way to fit more guests. When it comes to decorating tables, you can’t go wrong with crisp white tablecloths decorated with floral centrepieces to create a refined look. Floral centrepieces are a great way to develop your colour palette and theme. 
• In a space like a garage (as opposed to a ballroom), space can be more limited. Therefore, we would recommend small and low-lying floral arrangements to help prevent a cluttered feeling. Flowers suited for low-lying arrangements should range from medium to large, such as Dahlias, to small clusters like Geraldton Wax. Very large flowers, such as the Bird Of Paradise can be top-heavy, and might throw a small, low arrangement out of balance. 

Outdoor events have such beautiful ambiance, natural lighting, and scenery that it’s no wonder they are so popular. Planning an outdoor event can take more work than an indoor event, but don’t be discouraged. At Koch & Co, we have event planning supplies, and some tips and tricks to help you out. 

• When choosing your venue, if your preferred option doesn’t come with a kitchen/catering, speak with a caterer who has outdoor event experience. Discuss food safety equipment like food storage, propane gas, as well as power and water sources. When it comes to choosing the right event table decor for your outdoor event, choose charger plates, napkin rings, place card holders, placemats, and cake stands that suit your venue. For example, rattan look or mosaic charger plates and placemats, in addition to wooden napkin rings can work to echo the naturalistic setting of your event’s beautiful scenery, whether it is a coastal or a garden setting. 
• When planning an outdoor event, you need to consider at what point inclement weather will move your event undercover. Marquees are a popular option for outdoor events, and are widely available for hire in a number of sizes and styles. Not only do they provide shade and keep guests dry from rain, but they also invite the outside scenery in. This way, your outdoor wedding can still feel outdoorsy if you have rough weather on the day.
• Some venues will require that you clean up everything, and take all rubbish with you. Therefore, make sure to know what the expectations are, and have a bump-out plan in place. 

Event decorations for marquees and gazebos have a lot in common. Whether you’re planning to use a smaller and more lightweight gazebo or going for a larger-scale marquee, both marry the best of indoor and outdoor venues. Furthermore, they are a great blank canvas for exploring a theme and colour palette. 

• Lighting is an important aspect of event decorating not only for visibility of food, guests, and decorations, but also for ambiance. Examples of lighting options that are both beautiful and functional include fairy lights, chandeliers, candelabras, LED fairy light trees, illuminated paper lanterns, hanging candles, and pillar candles in glass vases. An example of a light source that helps create ambiance is a marquee ceiling covered in rows of fairy lights, especially if the roof is made of transparent plastic. Here, the warm yellow lights contrast with the night sky to produce a starry sky effect. 
• Depending on the marquee, you can also hang decorations, like a trailing greenery of Ivy, Italian Ruscus, Amaranthus, and/or mock orange. To create a garland in this style, you can tie up evenly spaced bunches of your chosen greenery onto a piece of twine. This twine can then be cable tied onto the structure of your marquee. Simple arrangements like this serve not only as decorations but also help bring the natural outdoor scenery into the marquee. Alternatives to greenery can include party decorations, such as tassel garlands, Carnation garlands, and crocheted or macramé hanging features.